Some Useful Definitions

Alliance – A group of cooperating organizations that operate within clearly defined rules for decision making and direction, usually with some degree of hierarchical command and control and coordination. 

Appreciation – The recognition of what the situation means in terms of the response needed to achieve objectives.  The “military appreciation” is the translation of situational understanding to decision criteria that include full consideration of commander’s intent, doctrine, rules of engagement, physical and environmental factors, tactics, techniques, and procedures, sustainment capabilities, and all other factors that influence the selected course of action.

Coalition – A group of cooperating organizations that address a common goal.  The coalition can involve military forces as well as non-military organizations.   A coalition can be a loosely coupled of cooperating organizations or a more tightly organized group of organizations under a defined, hierarchical command and control structure, or it can be a mix of these two types of structures acting within varying frameworks for decision making and direction.

Combined Force – A term applied to a force composed of significant elements, assigned or attached, of two of more different nations, operating a single combined force commander.  Similar to a Joint Force but multinational in character.

Commercial Technology – Equipment and services that are offered as commodities in the commercial sector.  This includes packages that provide significant functionality, not simply component-level products such as resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits or other components that can be built into a specially designed military system. (See COTS)

Command – 1. The authority that a commander in the Armed Forces lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of rank or assignment. Command includes the authority and responsibility for effectively using available resources and for planning the employment of, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling military forces for the accomplishment of assigned missions. It also includes responsibility for health, welfare, morale, and discipline of assigned personnel. 2. An order given by a commander; that is, the will of the commander expressed for the purpose of bringing about a particular action. 3. A unit or units, an organization, or an area under the command of one individual.(Joint Pub 1-02) 

Command and Control – The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission. Command and control functions are performed through an arrangement of personnel, equipment, communications, facilities, and procedures employed by a commander in planning, directing, coordinating, and controlling forces and operations in the accomplishment of the mission. (JCS/J7/Joint Doctrine Division memo dtd 20 Oct 94)

Command and Control System – The facilities, equipment, communications, procedures, and personnel essential to a commander for planning, directing, and controlling operations of assigned forces pursuant to the missions assigned. (Joint Pub 1-02)

COTS – Commercial off-the-shelf products such as personal computers, printers, display terminals, and mobile telephones.  The use of COTS in the context of this workshop does not refer to commercial components such as resistors and capacitors and integrated circuits that can be used as part of the design of a unique military system.  The term is intended, in this context, to imply a self-contained function of operational rather than technical significance.

Data – A representation of individual facts, concepts, or instructions in a manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or by automatic means. [IEEE]

Humanitarian Relief Operations – Military operations other than peacekeeping, peacemaking, or war that use military resources and personnel to augment non-military capabilities for handling disasters. 

Information – 1. The meaning that a human assigns to data by means of the known conventions used in their representation. (Joint Pub 1-02)  2. The refinement of data through known conventions and context for purposes of imparting knowledge. [DOD Technical Reference Model] 

Information Assurance – The ability to “…protect and defend information and information systems (IS) by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation. This includes providing for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities.” [INFOSEC-99]

Information Technology – Communications and computing, including hardware, software, information services, network and processing management, and information assurance. 

Joint Force – A general term applied to a force composed of significant elements, assigned or attached, of two or more Military Departments, operating under a single joint force commander. (JCS/J7/Joint Doctrine Division memo dtd 20 Oct 94)

Knowledge – The interpretation of information concerning entities, events, and environmental states that results in a specific conclusion about the physical world based on the available information and current context.

Military Operations – The full range of operations ranging from humanitarian relief to full scale war.  This workshop will emphasize the lower end of the conflict spectrum, dealing mainly with operations other than war.

Mobile (Equipment/Systems) – Equipment or systems that can move about the operational area as self-contained, fully functional packages.  This differs from “transportable” or “relocatable” equipment that requires external transportation or installation support. 

Network Centric – “… military operations that exploit information and networking technology to integrate widely dispersed human decision makers, situational and targeting sensors, and forces and weapons into a highly adaptive, comprehensive system to achieve unprecedented mission effectiveness.” [Network-Centric Naval Forces. Naval Studies Board, National Research Council, 2000]

Operational Control – The authority to perform those functions of command over subordinate forces involving organizing and employing commands and forces, assigning tasks, designating objectives, and giving authoritative direction necessary to accomplish the mission. Also called OPCON. (abbreviated extract from Joint Pub 1-02) 

Operational Situation – The physical, geopolitical, military, organizational, and environmental context.  This includes order of battle and threat information within the military context and cooperation with non-military and non-governmental entities in the organizational context.

OPTEMPO – the intensity, size, and persistence of operational activity

Peacekeeping – An operational situation in which overt military or paramilitary actions are not a major concern and where the military force provides a function similar to traditional law enforcement and civil emergency support organizations, though at a much higher OPTEMPO than in normal civilian situations.

Peacemaking – An operational situation in which the military force must cause the termination of open hostility among two or more entities.  Local host government authority may not exist in some cases, and the military force may have to provide an interim quasi-government function in those cases.

Permissive Operational Situation – An operational context that contains little or no military threat and that involves cooperation among the military forces, host nation governments, and non-governmental organizations.

Quality of Service (QoS) – 1. The ability of information networks (computers and communications) to provide adequate support to users and automated processes.  This normally includes satisfying demands such as throughput, bit error rate, latency, jitter, and transaction set-up time.  2. The performance specification of a communications channel or system that may be quantitatively indicated by channel or system performance parameters, such as signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), bit error ratio (BER), message throughput rate, and call blocking probability.  3. A subjective rating of telephone communications quality in which listeners judge transmissions by qualifiers, such as excellent, good, fair, poor, or unsatisfactory.

Relocatable (Equipment/Systems) – Equipment or systems that can be moved from one place to another but requiring external transportation support as well as installation and/or construction support.  Relocatable equipment will normally rely on external provision of physical facilities (buildings, shelters, etc.) in which to operate. Tactical control – The detailed and, usually, local direction and control of movements or maneuvers necessary to accomplish missions or tasks assigned. Also called TACON. (Joint Pub 1-02) 

Transportable (Equipment/Systems) – Equipment or systems that can be moved and made operational with a requirement for external transportation support but with minimal requirement for external installation support or external construction support.  Transportable equipment will usually contain all required physical facilities as part of the self-contained equipment package but will lack self-contained ability to move from place to place.

Understanding – The  interpretation of knowledge in terms of meaning within the current operational context: recognition of the meaning of recognized patterns in the perceived situation; interpretation of the “as is” knowledge in terms of the dynamics of the situation; identification of uncertainties, ambiguities, and needs for more information; identification of requirements to respond to the situation.

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